LSU baseball hopes to reload and improve

BATON ROUGE – In college baseball, one cannot just yell, “Omaha,” and throw a touchdown pass like Denver quarterback Peyton Manning.

It is an arduous, tedious and long process between Feb. 1 and the ides of June when the College World Series starts in Omaha, Neb. For example, it took LSU a week just to complete its Media Day, which was first scheduled for Friday a week ago, then Wednesday with both being postponed by separate ice storms.

“In baseball, we have three strikes,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said Friday at Media Day. “It is crazy what we have been dealing with in this last week.”

They finally got it in Friday amid warming temperatures, though it is far from baseball weather. The Tigers, who had their greatest pre-Omaha season in history last year, do not open the 2014 season for another two weeks on Feb. 14 against the University of New Orleans. The Southeastern Conference season will not open until March 14. The NCAA postseason opens May 30.

“That is the first thing Coach Mainieri told us in our first meeting,” senior outfielder Sean McMullen said. “The season does not start in Omaha. We realize how hard it is to get there, and we also realize what it takes. We are going to go through a lot of games, where it is going to be really emotional whether it’s good or bad. I am just looking forward to making those memories.”

LSU is coming off a memorable 2013 season. The Tigers won the Southeastern Conference West title at 23-7, a SEC Tournament title, won a league record 57 games and finished with the nation’s best winning percentage at .838 in a 57-11 season. LSU also reached Omaha for the first time since winning the national championship in 2009, but it went 0-2.

“Our goal every year is to roll out of bed and expect to go to Omaha to play for a national championship,” Mainieri said. “In order to do that, you have to compete very favorably in the SEC. I think we have a team that can do that. I am looking forward to it. We still have a way to go to put the team in that position. But it will be a great journey.”

The Tigers will be without Mason Katz, who led the team with a .370 average and was among the nation’s leaders with 16 home runs and 70 RBIs. Also gone is Raph Rhymes, who hit .331, and one of the best closers in school history in Chris Cotton, who saved a school record tying 16 games in 2013.

Back is sophomore shortstop Alex Bregman, who was second on the team in hitting last year at .369 and in RBIs with 52. Other top hitters return in McMullen (.314), sophomore Mark Laird of Monroe (.307) and senior Christian Ibarra (.305) as well as one of the best pitchers in the country – junior right-hander Aaron Nola, who was 12-1 with a 1.57 earned run average in 2013.

“We have a lot of big shoes to fill,” Mainieri said. “But out here people don’t want to hear excuses. They just want to see you reload and get ready to go. Fortunately for us, we have a good foundation of players returning.”

“We might not have those guys who are going to hit 16 home runs in a season anymore,” Foster said. “But we are going to have a consistent lineup all the way through. Everyone is going to contribute. No one slacks off. It’s going to be one solid lineup all the way through.”

And if LSU does make it to Omaha, then it can try to make amends for the 0-2.

“It was a very distressing feeling. I don’t want to ever experience that again, quite honestly,” Mainieri said.

“I don’t like to focus on that too often anymore,” Nola said. “We have to come back ready for a new season. It has put a little bit of a fire in our team. It is going to take awhile to get back there.”